All my life I have been a slow reader. When I started school I was always put in the group of kids that read the lower level reading book, or had to get extra time with the teachers. All throughout elementary school this unsettled me. I felt like I was singled out from all of my friends, I never got to be in the classes with the kids that I hung out with around the block. Everyone was in the higher reading groups while I was always behind and this ate away at me. I didn’t understand what was wrong, I did really well when it came too math, I was just a slow reader. Then came the dreaded testing we all had to do in silence in the 5th grade. Each year there was a week where we had no homework, but we had to take painful tests that took up all day. This year was different, I was told to go into a separate room from everyone else. Why? What makes me different from everyone else? What started as a tear turned into a floor. I was too young to understand why I was given special treatment and never got to be around my friends. I was too young to understand that I was just wired differently then other kids. I was given extra time on the test, but that didn’t matter to me I just wanted to be “normal” and with my friends. My mom took me to what I thought was the eye doctor, but I now know it as an eye vision therapist. There I learned that I suffer from a harsh case of dyslexia. My eyes don’t focus on text nearly as well as people who aren’t burdened. This makes it much more difficult for me to read at a pace my peers are at. The school gave me what is call the “504” plan which gives me special treatment in certain situations. The 504 plan is mainly for extra time on both standardized and grade related tests. For the most part it is unlimited time, which is a blessing, but it still didn’t settle well in my stomach. At the time I was young, a little 5th grader that’s biggest worry was if dinner cut into my time watching Scooby Doo. Out of nowhere I have to go see all of these doctors too see if something is wrong with me. My mom sat me down and explained to me that none of this is a big deal. I just read slower then everyone else, my eyes are just wired differently that’s all. She explained that me going to the doctors just gives me an opportunity that I should take advantage of, with this extra time on tests I will be able to get much higher scores on tests. I should not be in slower learning groups when I am able to work at the pace of the advanced kids, all I need is extra time. This conversation opened my little 10-year-old eyes. I learned to accept at such a young age that there is something different with me, it is just something that I am going to have to grow up and deal with. I thought I was so mature for my age having to deal with this. My dad praised me for being so strong and working well with everyone, and this just only feed my young ego. Too this day I will never forget the process of learning that I am different then many other peers of mine. I have learned to just grow up and cope with it. There is nothing I can do, only work with what is given to me. I finished my grade school career in all honors classes. I started from the bottom, now I’m here.
Then came the dreaded testing we all had to do in silence in the 5th grade. Each year there was a week where we had no homework, but we had to take painful tests that took up all day. This year was different, I was told to go into a separate room from everyone else. Why? What makes me different from everyone else?
What started as a tear turned into a floor. I was too young to understand why I was given special treatment and never got to be around my friends. I was too young to understand that I was just wired differently then other kids. I was given extra time on the test, but that didn’t matter to me I just wanted to be “normal” and with my friends.
My mom took me to what I thought was the eye doctor, but I now know it as an eye vision therapist. There I learned that I suffer from a harsh case of dyslexia. My eyes don’t focus on text nearly as well as people who aren’t burdened. This makes it much more difficult for me to read at a pace my peers are at. The school gave me what is call the “504” plan which gives me special treatment in certain situations. The 504 plan is mainly for extra time on both standardized and grade related tests. For the most part it is unlimited time, which is a blessing, but it still didn’t settle well in my stomach.
At the time I was young, a little 5th grader that’s biggest worry was if dinner cut into my time watching Scooby Doo. Out of nowhere I have to go see all of these doctors too see if something is wrong with me. My mom sat me down and explained to me that none of this is a big deal. I just read slower then everyone else, my eyes are just wired differently that’s all. She explained that me going to the doctors just gives me an opportunity that I should take advantage of, with this extra time on tests I will be able to get much higher scores on tests. I should not be in slower learning groups when I am able to work at the pace of the advanced kids, all I need is extra time.
This conversation opened my little 10-year-old eyes. I learned to accept at such a young age that there is something different with me, it is just something that I am going to have to grow up and deal with. I thought I was so mature for my age having to deal with this. My dad praised me for being so strong and working well with everyone, and this just only feed my young ego.
Too this day I will never forget the process of learning that I am different then many other peers of mine. I have learned to just grow up and cope with it. There is nothing I can do, only work with what is given to me. I finished my grade school career in all honors classes. I started from the bottom, now I’m here.